Paul Jannace: Dwight Gooden's life a cautionary tale

Wednesday

Dwight Gooden is many things. A hero is not one of those things — although it should be.

Dwight Gooden is many things.

A hero is not one of those things — although it should be.

Gooden signed picture after picture of himself from his glory days with the New York Mets during Sports Night in Hornell, N.Y., on Saturday night, and it's amazing he kept himself composed.

If that were me, and I saw myself the way I used to be — a jaw-dropping talent with the world at my feet only to be reduced to the butt of jokes about drug use? I'd want to curl up in a corner and cry.

Gooden is not a role model, but his life is a cautionary tale that any young athlete should learn all about. Heck, not just young athletes — everybody should know Gooden's story.

Nobody should aspire to be like Gooden, but they certainly should know what he was, what he became, and what he is remembered for now.

Gooden had three incredible seasons for the Mets in the mid-'80s. It's the kind of performance the back of a baseball card cannot do justice. Finding video highlights of Gooden from 1984-86 would floor someone who never saw him pitch.

The Dwight Gooden of 1985 had one of the greatest single-season performances in baseball history. Again, simply looking at Gooden's statistics only scratch the surface of how awesome he truly was — 24-4, 1.53 ERA, 16 complete games and 268 strikeouts in 276 2-3 innings at the age of 20.

Gooden threw 218 innings in Major League Baseball before his 20th birthday, with a blazing fastball and a devastating curveball that must be seen to be believed.

Then, suddenly, it was all gone.

The tragedy of "Dr. K" is what he did to himself that destroyed what should be one of the most celebrated athletes ever. Instead, when people say Doc Gooden's name, it is reviled and mocked.

As great as Gooden was, he actually never won a postseason game. He did pitch in several famous playoff games and had some hard luck along the way, but he was still a part of three World Series championship teams.

Gooden was the ace of 1986 Mets — one of the greatest baseball teams of all-time — but the very first red flag about trouble in the future came when he did not show up for the team's victory parade.

Two months later, he was arrested for fighting with police and tested positive for cocaine in the spring of 1987. Gooden entered rehab, but his troubles were just beginning.

Injuries in 1989 and 1991 also contributed to his major decline, but the drug use dominated his life over the next decade. In 1994, Gooden tested positive for cocaine again and he actually failed another test during his suspension and received a one-year ban.

There were dozens of kids who got pictures signed by Gooden on Saturday with likely very little understanding exactly what this former larger than life figure had been through to get there.

Gooden declined to discuss his past drug use in the Sports Night setting — understandably — but he wanted to give the youth he was hoping to set an example for advice on how not to repeat the mistakes he made in his own life.

"Being around positive people is very important," said Gooden. "When you face obstacles in your life, you need people around you who can help you get you back on your feet."

Gooden got a second chance with the Yankees in 1996, but for a while it seemed like it wouldn't last very long. His fastball no longer had zip, and his curveball was a shell of its former self.

Then came May 14, 1996, against the Seattle Mariners. Maybe one bad start away from being released and probably out of baseball forever, Gooden turned in a vintage performance.

Gooden no-hit the Mariners — which at that time included a lineup with Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez, and Jay Buhner — and stood on top of the world again.

It also is the moment Gooden holds most special in his memory bank.

"That was actually the last game my father saw me pitch because he passed away soon after," said Gooden. "That game will always have a special place in my heart."

Gooden went 20-12 over two seasons with the Yankees and then bounced around to Cleveland, Houston, Tampa Bay, and then back with the Yankees briefly again in 2000.

It was a sad finish to a career that should have given Gooden a place in the Hall of Fame. He and good friend Darryl Strawberry should be next to each other in Cooperstown, but neither will ever be close despite being two of the most gifted baseball players to ever walk the Earth.

Gooden and Strawberry are two of the most fascinating figures in sports because of all the talent they wasted. It amazes me to wonder what could have been for both had they been able to withstand the temptations of fame.

You don't have to be an aspiring athlete to use Gooden's life as a learning tool.

If you're great at something - anything - there will be instances where adversity strikes with the intention of bringing you down. There will be temptations to go down a bad road.

That's why young people should be aware of what Gooden did to himself and what it cost him.

Gooden's troubles did not end when his baseball career ended either. The former phenom has had a handful of arrests over the past 10 years with the charges ranging from driving while intoxicated, battery, driving with a suspended license, leaving the scene of a traffic stop, probation violation (twice), another DWI and endangering the welfare of a child.

Gooden served seven months in prison in 2006 for a probation violation, and who really knows if his troubles are over. One would hope so, but it'd be silly to be certain of that.

In this space in the past, I have encouraged people to read Jeff Pearlman's book "The Bad Guys Won," the story of the 1986 Mets. Gooden is a key character in the book, detailing the start of his substance abuse struggle, including the story of why he missed the World Series victory parade.

Heroes are flawed figures that rise above. Gooden had many chances to be a hero, but has to prove he can rise above for true redemption.

Follow Paul Jannace on Twitter at @pjscribe.

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